Author: Mariana Mainenti

Source: Correio Braziliense - Brasília / DF - 09/09/2010

Iano Andrade / CB / DA Press Manuella Beatriz Santos Vieira, bookstore box

At 18, the biology student at the University of Brasilia Manuella Beatriz Santos Vieira took a turn in 2010 in life. He decided to put aside the virtual store of thematic products that he created in partnership with his sister, Marina, 17, after attending an entrepreneurship course when he was in high school. In return, he preferred to join the group of those who prefer the rights and stability of the signed portfolio to the ups and downs of having a business of their own. The opportunity arose with the opening of Shopping Iguatemi in Brasília. In April, she was called to work in a large bookstore and stopped investing in the future as a microenterprise to realize a new dream.

“I am a book lover. He was a customer of the bookstore and always wanted to work here. Now, I am employed in a place that I like, with the advantage of having more stability ”, says Manuella, for whom the greater predictability of fixed cash use makes a difference. “Working on her own, there is a very large variation in income. In some months, I made good money, but in others, I didn't. Now, I know exactly how much I will receive at the end of the month and I still have benefits, such as health and dental plans and meal vouchers and transportation vouchers. ”

With the economic instability generated by the international crisis, stories like Manuella's were repeated throughout the country. The National Household Sample Survey (Pnad), released yesterday by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), points out that the number of employees with a formal contract rose from 33,7 million in 2008 to 34,4 million in 2009, the which indicates a growth in the participation of this group from 36,4% of the employed persons in the country to 37,1%. The number is record. In the same period, 289 thousand people stopped working on their own in Brazil and the number of employers dropped from 4,1 million to 3,9 million.

“Self-employment is often a way of escape for those who are already in the informal sector because they have not managed to enter the labor market. But, when an opportunity arises, the person chooses to formalize ”, evaluates the manager of Integration of the Monthly Employment Survey (PME) to Pnad, Cimar Azeredo. “The formal contract remains a dream for Brazilians, which also contributes to the worker's health by generating greater predictability. The stability that the person wants is, at the end of the month, to have his salary. ”

The higher rate of formalization is a positive counterpoint to a worrying data. In 2009, the number of unemployed people in the country went from 7,1 million to 8,4 million. This figure represents an increase of 18,5% in relation to the level of 2008. Excluding work in the rural area, it is the highest increase in unemployment in the decade. This means that the unemployment situation generated by the economic crisis was greater than what previously shown indicators had been showing.

“The first semester had a very strong impact on the Brazilian economy. It was lower in the second, to the point that GDP only dropped 0,2% in 2009. The formalization of the labor market contributed to mitigate the impact of the economic crisis in Brazil. Even though the labor legislation has not been changed, the inspection is increasing ”, says the president of IBGE, Eduardo Nunes.

In addition, the record unemployment rate may also be showing that, after the worst moment of the crisis, with the resumption of the economy, people who became unemployed were encouraged to look for jobs. Only those who continue looking for a job are included in the vacancy criteria. An index that measures a very low level of unemployment can show the so-called discouragement, when the unemployed person gives up trying to get a job.

For the manager of PNAD, the fact that there was more formalization of the labor market is a consequence of a positive macroeconomic scenario. “There were more people unemployed than we expected. The SME had been showing a lower unemployment rate. But the increase in the number of people with a formal contract is a sign that the prospects are positive ”, he analyzes. Azeredo adds that, compared to other countries, the unemployment rate in Brazil is lower. "The crisis was a storm that the country went through and will leave without much suffering."